8/17/16 – Gold medalist Majlinda Kelmendi and her Brain Type

She won a gold medal, but it is much more than just a medal. For Kosovo’s Majlinda Kelmendi, she is representing her country’s first ever Olympic games in which the small Balkan country took part, and in which they won. Twenty-five year-old Kelmendi won gold last week in the 52kg category of judo fighting, and on Sunday thousands of people lined the streets of Kosovo’s capital “to give a hero’s welcome.”

“It still looks as a dream,” Kelmendi told reporters after walking on the red carpet rolled out for her at Pristina’s airport, where she was welcomed by Prime Minister Isa Mustafa. “All the hard work and sacrifice I made, I did them for my country and my people.” Majlinda also has two world titles and three European crowns that she’s won since 2013, and is now ranked #1 in the world. She went on to say, “I just proved to them that even after the war, even after we survived a war, if they want something they can have it. If they want to be Olympic champions, they can be –even if we come from a small country, a poor country.”

So what is her Brain Type? Have you looked at pictures? Have you watched Kelmendi fight? Novice Brain Type enthusiasts should conclude rather quickly that Majlinda is an Inanimate, and likley a dominant Inanimate at that. She is serious, athletic, tough-minded, and a woman of few words. “People say,’ I just can’t imagine you doing judo or being so aggressive or winning something — you are so quiet.” How is that for a typical description of, yes, the rare #6 BEIR.

Says her coach and mentor, Driton Kuka, “She has a big fighting spirit — she is always ready to give more than 100% in training.”

And according to one CNN article, “Kelmendi says judo brings out a different side in her — a focused ferocity that overwhelms her opponents with assassin-like efficiency.” How ironic, considering Niednagel years ago described the #6 BEIR as “assassins” on the court, field, or rink!

It is a true rags to riches story for Majlinda, who turned down high-paying offers from several other countries to fight for them (instead she will be receiving roughly $100,000 from her country). We couldn’t be happier for this determined young woman of strength and conviction, and we hope to see her win many more victories for Kosovo in the future.